energy savings at home

Improving your home's energy efficiency with ENERGY STAR can help to lower high energy bills, improve comfort and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Learn about the many ways to save in your home and track your progress with "My ENERGY STAR" - your new dashboard to savings.

new homes & apartments

A new home or apartment that has earned the ENERGY STAR label has undergone a process of inspections, testing, and verification to meet strict requirements set by the US EPA. ENERGY STAR certified homes and apartments use significantly less energy than typical new homes and apartments while delivering better comfort, quality, and durability.

Clothes Washers Key Product Criteria

The ENERGY STAR criteria for clothes washers was changed on February 5, 2018 and is as follows:

Product Type

Current Criteria Levels (as of February 5, 2018)

ENERGY STAR Residential Clothes Washers, Front-loading (> 2.5 cu-ft)

IMEF ≥ 2.76
IWF ≤ 3.2

ENERGY STAR Residential Clothes Washers, Top-loading (> 2.5 cu-ft)

IMEF ≥ 2.06
IWF ≤ 4.3

ENERGY STAR Residential Clothes Washers (≤ 2.5 cu-ft)

IMEF ≥ 2.07
IWF ≤ 4.2

ENERGY STAR Commercial Clothes Washers, Front-loading

MEFJ2 ≥ 2.20
IWF ≤ 4.0

ENERGY STAR Qualified Clothes Washer Eligibility

Only front and top-loading clothes washers with capacities greater than 1.6 ft3 and less than 8.0 ft3; and are not defined as Combination All-In One Washer-Dryers, Residential Clothes Washers with Heated Drying Functionality, or top-loading commercial clothes washers are eligible for ENERGY STAR Certification.

Energy Performance Metrics

MEFJ2 is the quotient of the capacity of the clothes container, C, divided by the total clothes washer energy consumption per cycle, with such energy consumption expressed as the sum of the machine electrical energy consumption, M, the hot water energy consumption, E, and the energy required for removal of the remaining moisture in the wash load, D. The higher the value, the more efficient the clothes washer is. The equation is shown below and the metric units are ft3/kWh/cycle:

IMEF is the quotient of the capacity of the clothes container, C, divided by the total clothes washer energy consumption per cycle, with such energy consumption expressed as the sum of the machine electrical energy consumption, M, the hot water energy consumption, E, the energy required for removal of the remaining moisture in the wash load, D and the combined low-power mode energy consumption, L. The higher the value, the more efficient the clothes washer is. The equation is shown below and the metric units are ft3/kWh/cycle:

IMEF =

C

M + E + D + L

Integrated Water Factor, IWF, is the water performance metric for ENERGY STAR certified residential clothes washers as of March 7, 2015 and ENERGY STAR certified commercial clothes washers as of February 5, 2018. It allows the comparison of clothes washer water consumption independent of clothes washer capacity. Manufacturers must submit their water consumption factors with their ENERGY STAR certified residential clothes washers.

IWF is the quotient of the total weighted per-cycle water consumption for all wash cycles, QA, divided by the capacity of the clothes washer, C. The lower the value, the more water efficient the clothes washer is. The equation is shown below:

IWF =

QA

C

The federal EnergyGuide label on residential clothes washers shows annual energy consumption and cost. These figures use the IMEF/MEFJ2, average cycles per year, and the average cost of energy to make the energy and cost estimates. The Integrated Modified Energy Factor, or Integrated Water Factor may not appear on the EnergyGuide label.